Health
JUST IN: FG confirms first anthrax case in Niger
The Federal Government, on Monday, confirmed the first case of anthrax in Nigeria, stating that the disease was detected in a farm in Niger State.
The Federal Government had earlier alerted the general public to the outbreak of anthrax disease in some neighbouring countries within the West African sub-region and advised Nigerians to desist from the consumption of hides, otherwise known as ponmo, at the moment.
The FG had specifically stated that the disease was widespread in northern Ghana, bordering Burkina Faso and Togo, as it also promised to keep the Nigerians updated on developments about the disease.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development stated that it was “deeply concerned to announce the confirmation of an anthrax case in Niger State, Nigeria.”
It added, “On July 14, 2023, the Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer of Nigeria was notified of animals manifesting symptoms of a suspected case of anthrax in a farm in Suleja, Niger State.
“The case was in a multi-specie animal farm comprising of cattle, sheep and goats located at Gajiri, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway Suleja Local Government Area, Niger State, where some of the animals had symptoms including oozing of blood from their body openings – anus, nose, eyes, and ears.”
The FMARD stated that a rapid response team comprising of federal and states’ One Health Professional Team visited the farm to conduct preliminary investigations and collected samples from the sick animals.
“Subsequent laboratory tests by the National Veterinary Research Institute laboratory confirmed the diagnosis, marking the first recorded case of anthrax in Nigeria in recent years and after the report of an outbreak of anthrax in Northern Ghana a few weeks ago. All animals affected have died,” the ministry stated.
Anthrax is caused by the spore-forming bacterium – Bacillus anthracis, which primarily affects animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats.
It can also infect humans who come into direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products, such as meat, wool or hides.
Inhalation of anthrax may occur through the inhalation of spores, while cutaneous anthrax can result from contact with contaminated materials or through open wounds.
The statement, however, stated that the Federal Government, through the FMARD, in collaboration with the Niger State Government, had taken proactive measures to ensure the outbreak was controlled and contained quickly in Nigeria.
“This includes quarantine of the affected farm, deployment of anthrax spore vaccines to the affected and adjoining farms to vaccinate in-contact animals, and educating the farm workers of the affected farms on symptoms, preventive measures, and what to do when they encounter suspected cases.
“Plans are also underway to conduct nationwide vaccination of cattle, sheep, and goats against anthrax. Surveillance of anthrax will be heightened in livestock farms, markets and abattoirs. Public awareness campaigns on anthrax will be intensified,” the FMARD stated.
The ministry encouraged all livestock owners to remain vigilant and promptly report any suspicious illness or deaths in their animals, to avoid contact with sick or dead animals and their products.
It urged livestock owners to exercise caution when buying animals such as cows, camels, sheep, goats, and other livestock from Nigerian states bordering Benin, Chad and Niger, as well as from Ghana and Togo via waterways.
The Association of Resident Doctors in the Federal Capital Territory Administration on Monday began an indefinite strike on Monday.
This was disclosed in a communique issued by the ARD-FCT on Monday, signed by its President, Dr. George Ebong, and General-Secretary, Dr. Agbor Affiong.
The association had embarked on a seven-day warning strike last Monday to press home its demands, following months of unresolved negotiations with the FCTA.
Details later.
Health
Overworked RSUTH Resident Doctor Slump, Dies on Duty
What happened is that he was on call in the Emergency Room. Afterward, he went to the call room to rest, and it was there that he died. Unfortunately, he was the only one attending to the patients.
Dr Oluwafemi Rotifa, a young resident doctor at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) collapsed and died after a gruelling 72-hour call duty.
Ohibaba.com reliably gathered that the deceased doctor, fondly called Femoski by colleagues, was a former President of the Port Harcourt University Medical Students’ Association, PUMSA, and was registered with the United Kingdom’s General Medical Council, awaiting placement abroad.
The President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, Dr. Tope Osundara, who confirmed Rotifa’s death, said that the deceased doctor had been on continuous call duty for three days in the Emergency Room before he retreated to the call room to rest.
It was there that he slumped and later died, despite efforts to resuscitate him in the Intensive Care Unit.
“What happened is that he was on call in the Emergency Room. Afterward, he went to the call room to rest, and it was there that he died. Unfortunately, he was the only one attending to the patients.
“The overuse of manpower strained his health and led to this painful death. It was a death on duty,” Osundara lamented.
From manipulated images to out-of-context photos, false claims that Donald Trump is seriously ill — or even dead — have swirled online, with the misinformation persisting even after the US president publicly rejected it on Tuesday.
At a White House press conference, Trump dismissed social media rumours about his health as “fake news,” following the 79-year-old’s noticeable absence from public appearances and press events last week.
Since last Friday, there were around 104,000 mentions of the hashtag “Trump dead” on the Elon Musk-owned platform X, generating a cumulative 35.3 million views, according to an analysis from the misinformation watchdog NewsGuard.
Some social media users cited online maps purportedly showing road closures near Maryland’s Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre as evidence that Trump was being treated for a serious ailment at the facility.
But there were no credible reports of road closures around the medical facility.
Other social media users shared an image of an ambulance parked outside the White House, claiming it was taken last month and citing it as evidence of a health crisis involving Trump.
It was actually an old photo posted by a journalist on X in April 2023 — while Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, was still in office, according to NewsGuard.
Some users claiming that Trump was dead shared an out-of-context image of the White House flag flying at half-staff, a traditional gesture used to honour the death of a prominent official.
In reality, Trump had issued a proclamation last week ordering flags at the White House, military posts, and naval stations across the country to be lowered in honour of the victims of a school shooting in Minneapolis.
Some users also posted a zoomed-in image of Trump’s face, claiming it showed a deep line above his eye that indicated a recent stroke.
But NewsGuard found that the original image was out of focus and showed no signs of a line over Trump’s eye. The image used in the false posts was digitally enhanced using an AI tool.
The misinformation — which appeared to originate from liberal anti-Trump accounts on X, Bluesky, and Instagram — persisted even after Trump stated on Truth Social over the weekend: “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.”
The falsehoods continued to circulate following Trump’s press conference on Tuesday, where he publicly dismissed the health rumours.
Shortly after the conference, one Bluesky account falsely claimed that the “White House just announced” the president was dead.
The falsehoods highlight how facts are increasingly under assault on a misinformation-filled internet landscape, an issue exacerbated by public distrust of institutions and traditional media.
The health of US presidents has always been closely watched, but with the White House seeing its two oldest ever occupants since 2017, the scrutiny is now heavier than ever.
Trump — the oldest man ever to be elected US president — has alleged that Democrats covered up the mental and physical decline of Biden, who was 82 when he left office in January.
Biden’s health was a key issue in the 2024 election, and the then-president was forced to drop his campaign for a second term after a disastrous debate performance against Trump.
AFP
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